Williams, a 23-time Grand Slam victor who returned to the tour this year after the birth of her first child, needed just 65 minutes to dispatch Gavrilova.

The 23-time Grand Slam champion won her first round match over Daria Gavrilova in straight sets, 6-1, 6-2, on Monday, but appeared to run out of gas in the third set against Kvitova.

The 20-time major victor skipped Toronto last week to pace himself with the tournament at Flushing Meadows followed by the Laver Cup in Chicago in mid-September. When she withdrew from the Rogers Cup, the 36-year-old Williams said she's been struggling with postpartum emotions.

"I realised after Wimbledon that this is a journey for me", Williams, a 23-time Grand Slam victor, said. Why would I want to do something else all of sudden just because I'm not winning a few matches?'

Denis Shapovalov also reached the third round with an upset, knocking off 14th-seeded Kyle Edmund, 6-4, 7-5.

Federer will play his opening match of the tournament against Peter Gojowczyk of Germany on August 15.

Wild card Stan Wawrinka, working his way back from two left knee surgeries, advanced with a 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 win over 12th-seeded Diego Schwartzman.

Aretha Franklin, the 'Queen of Soul,' Dead at 76The singer's final public performance was last November, when she sang at an Elton John AIDS Foundation gala in NY . Her relatives said they had "lost the matriarch and rock" of their family in a statement issued via her publicist.

"Not only was I accepting some tough personal stuff, but I just was in a funk", Williams said in an Instagram post.

"I felt good in that first match, to be honest, walking out, hardly any nerves".

"I'm going to make mistakes and that's okay, because everyone makes mistakes". And course the big goal is the US Open. "I feel like that's a bit of an opportunity wasted".

The victor of that match will play Lesia Tsurenko, who defeated Ekaterina Makarova 7-6 (7/5) 6-2.

"It's important to always try to play your game, especially on faster surfaces, and not be too reactive", he said.

Andy Murray lost to Lucas Pouille 6-1, 1-6, 6-4 in the first round of the Western & Southern Open on Monday, clearing another obstacle for Roger Federer in this U.S. Open tuneup.